Veteran players lead way in UNC baseball's season opening sweep over Middle Tennessee

With only two senior infielders and one senior pitcher returning in 2020, the big question facing the No. 23 North Carolina baseball team was if its younger core of players would be able to live up to the standards of a 2019 team that won the ACC Tournament and hosted an NCAA Super Regional.

To hear head coach Mike Fox tell it, those players knew the standards when they got here.

“They know the expectations here, so they shouldn’t be surprised when they get on the field,” Fox said. “That’s why you decided to come to the University of North Carolina: to show up on game day and play against the best."

While the Tar Heel newbies played their part, the team's veterans proved critical in a season-opening series sweep this weekend. Players young and old helped No. 23 North Carolina knock off Middle Tennessee by scores of 15-3, 2-1 and 5-4 this weekend, getting the season off to the right start.

In game one, junior starting pitcher Joey Lancellotti got five strikeouts on the mound, while also earning two RBIs over the plate. First-year catcher Eric Grintz registered four RBIs on a pair of doubles. Three new relief pitchers also made their UNC debuts in the blowout: sophomore transfer Kyle Mott and first-years Davis Palermo and Austin Elliott.

Grintz credited the older players on the team with helping the younger guys to “build and grow” over every weekend. The first-year said he looks forward to what the rest of the season brings.

“We have some great upperclassmen guys. Look at them, look at Dylan Harris,” Grintz said. “They kept their composure the whole weekend. I think we just have such great leaders on this team.”

There’s a good reason to look at Harris. The senior centerfielder was crucial to both Saturday and Sunday’s dramatic victories. On Saturday, his solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning tied it up for UNC, before another solo shot from Lancellotti won the game in the ninth inning, 2-1. 

On Sunday, Harris went yard in the bottom of the fourth to put his team up 5-2. The Tar Heels went scoreless for the rest of the game, and the run proved to be a crucial cushion when the Blue Raiders scored two more runs before the end of the game.

“(I'm) not really the big home run guy, as you can see, but it feels good to get off to a hot start,” Harris said. “(Aaron Sabato) told me I had to quit hitting home runs, but I told him that I had to get a good head start on him before he starts heating up.”

Just as Grintz indicated, Harris said he thinks keeping his emotions and composure in check is key for the younger players around him. As the only senior in the starting lineup, Harris said this series will help build up confidence for his young teammates.

“If you’re out there being a roller coaster of emotions, you’re gonna freak the younger guys out,” Harris said. “As long as you keep a good, neutral mindset, you’re gonna keep them under control too.”

Despite a 3-0 weekend, Fox said he knows there are still improvements to be made, and a whole season of baseball still to come. 

However, he also wants his team to enjoy these first three wins. Their next three opponents — Elon, High Point and Dallas Baptist — all completed their own weekend sweeps, so the Tar Heels will have to be ready to go.

“I can’t be too critical of our team right out of the gate,” Fox said. “I’ll just let them enjoy winning the first three, and then we’ve gotta turn right back around and play again here quickly … we’re off and running.”

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